Bottom and back brace for drag-line buckets



Nov. 15, 1955 s. w. TRUNDLE 2,723,471

BOTTOM AND BACK BRACE FOR DRAG-LINE BUCKETS Fild April 26 1951 2Sheets-Sheet 1 F'i ca. 3.

INVENTOR. GRANTW. TRUNDLE,

Nov. 15, 1955 e. w. TRUNDLE BOTTOM AND BACK BRACE FOR DRAG-LINE BUCKETS2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fild April 26, 1951 FIGS.

INVENTOR.

GRANT W. TRUNDLE, BY

JTTORNB'.

BOTTOM AND BACK BRACE FOR DRAG-LINE BUCKETS Grant-W. Trundle, FortLauderdale, Fla.. Application April 26,- 1951Serial Ne.-' 2'23,035

3 Claims. (Cl. 37-135 This invention relates to animprovement-inexcavating. apparatus and has particular. reference tothe type-commonlyrecognized as drag line bucketsuand the :prime purpose of the presentinvention is the provisiontofx-brace means forprotecting the bucketagainst: damage -thatiscaused by impact engagement upon rocksor-the'like.

It is a commonly recognized-fact, that drag; line buckets have arelatively short life-and require constant; and repeated repairs tomaintainthe bucket bottom straight. in order to facilitate theloadingand discharge of excavated material. Attempts have been-madetostrengthen the bottoms of the buckets by .using. a plural? ity of ribsor runners along the bottom andback oftthev bucket,.but such means hasproven ineffective and under normal excavating operations,theoperatorlowers the. bucket to the point of diggingrand frequently, as.the bucket is drawn forward and contacts a rockyformation that fails togive, the bucketwith. its fuller partialiload; rises upwardly and, whenthe rock: formation-breaks" away, the bucket falls back toits normalposition; strik; ingjts bottom against the rocks and bending the :bottominwardly. In a relatively short time,- therbottomthas been: bentinwardly so far, that the bucket fails: to perform; correctly and itbecomes necessary to. remove'the bucket: and by suitable pounding, bendthe-bottombaclc -toinormal. position. This. action. results ina.-considerablo=loss; oftime and is comparatively expensiverand-aundennormali rocky excavating, the bucketwillrequirevrepairingztapr proximately once a week.

An important object of the-present invention-resides: in providing acentrally disposed brace. ton-the bucketa thatis welded upon the innersurface Ofzzthfi bucketiandl'. provides a-rigid novel brace to prevent.inwardbending; of the bucket bottom underpractically,-all fnormal=con-r; ditions: of excavating.

A further object of the inventionresidesin aucooperwr atingstrengthening brace across. thekoutervrear.wallrof; the bucket thatprevents bendingof the::walh.inwardly;- should the bucket be idroppedtoosuddenlyon its endzs.

v A further object of the invention:residesimthetnovcl: construction ofthe brace means. andthemannerwofiim; stallation whereby thenbucketbottom is braced *from: various angles of impact.

Other important objects and advantages of athe invention will be moreclearly described and pointed outadur-t ing-the course of thefollowing-description,- reference' be-t: ing had to the accompanyingdrawings,. wherein: is? shown thepreferreduform-of the devicer'andzwherein like char-r acters of reference are employed. todenote-alike .parts throughout.

,In the drawings:

; ingt day, which volume is considerably expensivein-view ofcthe cost ofthe machineoperator, equipment and thelike.'. The purpose therefore ofthis invention is to pro-.-

v Figure 1 1s a side elevation of 'a .convent1onal.drag,

line bucket with the invention applied thereto,

Figure 2 is a top plan view thereof,

Figure 3 is a rear end elevation thereof,

Figure 4 is a transverse sectional view of the bucket, taken on line 44of Figure 1 andlookingdnthedirem; tio'n of'the arrows,

Figure 5 is; a fragmcntarysectional view of the bucket, taken-on line5-5 of Figure 2,

Figure 6-is a fragmentarytransverse section, taken on.

line 6.-6 of Figure 5,

Figure 7 is a perspective viewillustrating the manner of installing thebrace means,

Figure 8 is a perspective view of oneside plate of the braceand,

Figure 9 isa perspective view of one of the gussets employed inithebracemeans.

Referring specifically to the drawings, the numeral 5' designates anystandard and conventional drag line excavating bucket, having a bottom6, sidewalls 7 anda rear wall 8. The bottom is. rounded into the rearwall:

arcuate form and the bottom and wall 8 may' be formed-in acontinuoussheet of. material, as may also thebottom and side walls. The forwardend of the bucket is formed open and the leading edge of the bottom-6isprovided with conventional cutting teeth 9. The forward end isalsoprovided with a conventional yoke: 10,;having connectionwith hoistingcables or chains, as iscustomary. The bucket is also provided withforwardi clevises 11 for connection with draft cables or chains,vwhile.-the rear portion of the bucket is supported .and

controlled by chains 12, connected to swivels 13. The

structure so far described'is generally conventional withall draglinebuckets.

It has been found, that when excavating rock or the like, the'bucketwhen being-dragged forwardly for cutting or digging action, willfrequently engage a mass that isso hard-as tocause the loaded orpartially loaded' bucket? to fulcrum upwardly upon the teeth 9 and, asthe rock'mass breaks away, the loaded-bucket drops back-to thehorizontalposition-and strikes. the. rock surface with considerableforce,-accelerated by theload in the bucketand. causes: the bottom ofthe bucket, adjacent its rear end to be progressivelybent inward. Thisis understandable-when it is considered that the bucket,-plus itsload,.-.weighs-.several thousand. pounds. Due. to this poundinglyandbending, it becomes necessary to discon-- nest and transport the bucketto a point of repair and the bottom'then pounded out to its originalshape. AS

the bottom is bent inwardly, the loading and discharge thereof: becomesincreasingly more dilficult andgreatly reduces thevolume ofwork-possible in. the usual workvideaa novel'brace means within thebucket,- that will absorb the external forces of pounding impact to theex-' tent-that the-bottom and rear .wall are adequately braced againstinward: bending.

The brace of the present invention is rigidly weldedin"position;withinthebucketand designated as awhole by-the numeral'14;The brace 14 iscentrally arranged and extends longitudinally of thebucket, engaging :both

thebottomwall6 and rear wall 8 in that area subjected .-to-external.forces; The: braceconsists of a centhe: bottom andrear .Wall of thebucket.

ofgussets! 18, triangular. in shapeandhaving.theirvvera tical and bottomedges welded to .the plate 15 and.bot-. The gussets 18.are cut away to.

tom 6, as shown. provide .assembly and welding-tongues. 19, for a.purpose..to-.be.described. The .gussets .18 are covered" by;

side angularly disposed plates 20, slotted at 21, for the PatentedNov.15, 1955.

reception of the tongues 19 at assembly. The plates I 20 have a straightupper edge 22 that normally parallels the edge 16 of the plate 15 atassembly and a curved lower edge 23 that conforms to the curvature ofthe bottom and rear wall 6 and 8 at their point of merging. The plate atassembly is welded along its upper edge 22 throughout its contact withthe plate 15 and also throughout its curved edge 23, to the bottom ofthe bucket. The plate 20 is also welded throughout the engagement of thetongues in the slots 21. As shown, the gussets are positioned in radialform and the number of gussets employed is determined by the size ofbucket and the estimated weight thereof and the weight of the estimatedload supported within the bucket.

In the assembly of the brace 14, the overall length of the desired braceis determined and the lower edge of the plate 15 is cut to conform tothe bottom of the bucket. The plate is then positioned within the bucketin vertical position and welded to the bucket along its entire curvededge 17. The number and sizes of gussets having been determined, theyare positioned upon opposite sides of the plate 15 and temporarilysupported in angular and radial position in contacting relation with thesides of the plate 15 and the bottom of the bucket. Any suitabletemplate may be employed for the temporary support of the gussets. Thegussets are then welded to the plate 15 and the bottom of the bucketthroughout the right angular edges. The plates 20, having beenpreformed, are then positioned over the gussets at both sides of theplate 15, with the tongues 19 seated within the slots 21. In thisposition, the edge 22 contacts and parallels the edge 16 of the plate15, while the lower edge 23 contacts the bottom of the bucket throughoutits length. The edges 20 and 23 are then welded throughout their lengthto the edge 16 and bottom of the bucket respectively. The plate 20 isthen welded throughout the length of the several tongues of the gussets.It will thus be seen, that a very rigid brace has been provided that isangularly disposed at the rear portion of the bucket in that area foundto absorb the major portion of all external forces. The stress ofexternal force is thus transmitted throughout the brace bothlongitudinally and laterally, while the assembled brace is of invertedV-shape in cross section and offers no obstacle to the loading andunloading of the bucket.

As an additional safeguard against inward bending, should the bucket bedropped forcibly upon its rear wall 8, a transverse horizontallyarranged rib 24 is welded to the outer face of the wall 8 at a pointabove the brace 14. The rib 24 will obviously be notched to engage overthe conventional external runners 25 of the bucket, with the engagingedge of the rib being welded throughout its length to the bucket.Gussets 26 are preferably welded to the rib 24 above and below and tothe wall 8 of the bucket. An external force striking the rib 24 will betransmitted through the brace 14 longitudinally thereof, with the forcebeing distributed both longitudinally and laterally.

It will be apparent from the foregoing, that a very novel and highlyefficient brace means has been provided for drag-line buckets. The bracerigidly supports the bottom and rear wall against inward bending anddoes not interfere with the loading action of the bucket nor thedischarge of such load. The incline of the brace both longitudinally andupon its sides, prevents rocks or the like from catching and hanging inthe bucket. It is contemplated that the brace shall be installed withindrag-line buckets as original equipment, but the application of thebrace to those buckets now in use is simple and cheap to install andgreatly adds to the life of the bucket and avoids the very costly delaysnow encountered in straightening and repairing the buckets after theirbottoms have been bent inward.

Since the buckets will not be removed from service periodically forrepair, the production will be very considerably increased.

It is to be understood, that the invention is not limited to the precisearrangement shown, but that various changes in the shape, size,materials and methods of assembly may be resorted to as clearly fallwithin the spirit of the invention or the scope of the subjoined claims.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent is:

1. Brace means for use with a drag-line excavating bucket of the typethat is formed of sheet metal and having a fiat bottom wall, verticalside walls and a vertical rear wall, and with the bottom being roundedto merge into the several walls, an internal brace device for rigidpositioning within the bucket centrally and longitudinally thereof, thebrace device embodying a central plate having an upper straight edge anda curved lower edge that conforms to the merging portion of the bottom,the straight edge being inclined throughout its length from the bottomto the rear wall, outwardly inclined side Plates welded to the firstnamed plate along its straight edge and to the bottom, rear wall androunded area of the bottom, gussets transversely and radially disposedbetween the plates, the several plates being welded throughout theirlower edges to the bucket and the gussets being welded to the plates andto the bucket and an outer rear wall brace that extends transversely andhorizontally of the rear wall and is welded thereto throughout itslength and gussets above and below the rear wall brace that are weldedthroughout their contacting engagement with the brace and the rear wall.

2. A bottom and rear wall brace device for use with sheet metaldrag-line excavating buckets that have a flat bottom that is rounded tomerge into a vertical rear wall, the brace embodying an inverted V-shapein cross section throughout its length, the brace consisting of a fiatvertically arranged metallic plate that is positioned centrally andlongitudinally of the bucket, the plate having a lower curved edge thatconforms to and is welded to the rounded portion of the bottom and therear wall, the upper edge of the plate being straight and inclinedupward throughout its length from the bottom to the rear wall,transversely disposed triangular gussets arranged upon both sides of theplate and welded to the plate and to the bottom, the gussets beingdisposed radially with the gussets upon opposite sides of the platebeing identically arranged, closure plates for positioning over thegussets, interlocking means between the gussets and the closure plates,the closure plates having straight upper edges coextensive with theupper edge of the first named plate, the closure plates inclinedoutwardly and downwardly for interlocking engagement with the gussetswith their lower edges curved to conform to the rounded bottom portion,the upper straight edges of the closure plates lying in parallel contactwith the straight edge of the first named plate, the several plates andgussets being rigidly welded together throughout their contactingengagement and rigidly welded to the bucket throughout their contactingengagement therewith.

3. A bottom and rear wall brace device for use with drag-line excavatingbuckets of the type that have a flat bottom wall and a rear wall andwith the bottom wall being curved to merge into the rear wall, aninverted V-shaped brace adapted to be rigidly positioned in the bucketcentrally and longitudinally thereof and connected jointly to the bottomand rear walls, the brace consisting of a fiat vertically arrangedcenter plate and downwardly and outwardly inclined side plates, thecenter plate and the side plates having upper straight edgesco-extensive in length and lying in parallel contacting engagement, thelower edges of the several plates being curved to conform to and havecontacting engagement throughout their lengths with the bottom, rearwall and curved area, the

upper straight edges jointly being inclined upwardly and rearwardly fromthe flat bottom to the rear wall, triangular gussets transverselypositioned between the plates and upon opposite sides of the centerplate, the gussets being disposed in a radial manner, the side platesprovided with radial slots corresponding to the radial positioning ofthe gussets, the gussets having tongues formed thereon that areco-extensive with their co-operating slots, the side plates beingpositioned in overlying position to cover the gussets with the tonguesof the gussets engaging their respective slots, the several plates andgussets and their engaging tongues being welded throughout their area ofcontacts, the several plates and gussets being welded to the bottom,rear wall and rounded area throughout their points of contact.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTSKennedy Jan. 5, 1886 Dunlop July 3, 1906 McMann July 30, 1907 SurbaughFeb. 3, 1914 Cole Jan. 7, 1919 Brannon Feb. 16, 1926 McKee et a1. May 1,1928 Bailey, Jr May 21, 1929 Grounds Dec. 8, 1931 Smith June 28, 1932Lee Mar. 20, 1945 Maxon, Jr. Mar. 29, 1949 Siems Feb. 7, 1950

